


Aftermath Of The Expo

by IWannaDoBadThingsWithYou237



Series: The Miles And Stella Stories [1]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man - All Media Types
Genre: DADT Mentions, Domestication, Established Relationship, Family Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Kid Fic, M/M, My new OTP, Romance, Sam and Rhodey are living together, They adopted Miles, They had another baby, Tony doesnt know, alternative universe, part of a series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-30
Updated: 2015-12-30
Packaged: 2018-05-10 07:35:59
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,160
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5576917
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IWannaDoBadThingsWithYou237/pseuds/IWannaDoBadThingsWithYou237
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rhodey comes home to Sam and their children Miles (Morales) and Stella in the aftermath of the events at the Expo. Sam is not remotely impressed with a suit of metal even if it is made by Tony Stark. Miles wants to meet Iron Man and Stella wants a glitter Iron Man Suit, Sam wants to kill James. </p>
<p>AU Iron Man 2. Iron Man 3. Captain America the Winter Solider. Avengers Assemble. Age of Ultron and Civil War. Part of a series.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Aftermath Of The Expo

**Author's Note:**

> So this was born of a rather unhealthy obsession with the pairing Sam/Rhodey. Miles Morales is the adopted son of Sam and Rhodey (because that's all I see when I imagine Miles) while Stella is born via surrogate (nobody knows who her biological father is). This series will follow on with the Avengers, Iron Man 3, Captain America The Winter Soldier, Age of Ultron, Ant Man and Civil War...as well as some extra none cannon Oneshots. 
> 
> Sam is Dad, Rhodey, Pops and Sam calls him James. Just to clarify

It’s Miles who comes in and tells him. Sam is busy chopping up garlic to go in with the pasta source and wondering if James is actually planning to skype in with them that night when Miles comes in looking confused for an eleven year old. “Dad?” he asks looking confused “Can I ask you a question?”

Sam smiles reaching for the pepper “You know you can always ask Kiddo” he says grinning invitingly “What do you wanna know?” he hopes this isn’t something to do with Miles increasing interest in Tony Stark and his other father’s friendship. He doesn’t think he can handle talking about that friendship, and he really doesn’t think he can handle Miles asking if his father is coming home soon or skyping tonight.

He doesn’t want to admit that he doesn’t know the answer.

“Well…why does CNN say that Pops is in an Iron Man suit with Tony Stark flying around New York with an army of metal Iron Man’s?” he asks this like he was uninterested in the answer.

Sam drops the pepper. “He’s what?” he all but shouts and Miles jumps nearly a foot in the air. “Sorry Buddy” he says picking the shaker back up “But did you just say your father was flying around in one of Stark’s suits?”

Miles nodded biting his lip “I had to check CNN for a History question and it’s showing the Stark Expo. And the newscaster said that Tony Stark was in one suit and Colonel James Rhodes was in another and they were fighting Hammer Tech”

Sam carefully counts to ten, closes his eyes and then opens them again. “Is your sister in the living room?” he asks and his heart sinks when Miles nods. That’s just all he needs. “Ok” he breathes through his nose again “Ok kid let’s see”

His and James’s baby girl Stella jumps up when she sees him and Sam hooks her onto his hip her eyes as wide as plates. She’s only four and Sam doesn’t even wanna think about the nightmares this is gonna give her. He wants to turn off the TV but knows that he can’t, so he tucks Stella in on one side and tucks Miles into the other and the three of them sit on the couch and watch as New York once again becomes a warzone.

Stella screams at one point and Sam makes a shushing noise hooking her back onto his lap and closing her eyes with his hand and flinching himself when the Expo explodes. He would be halfway inclined to send her upstairs only he knows that Stella has seen too much. Miles is silent next to him until the last second when the newscaster confirms that both Tony Stark and James Rhodes have been seen on a nearby building and that they are both alive and then he gives a small sob.

Blindly Sam wraps his arm around Miles pulling him closer and tucking him into his side. He presses his face into his children’s hair and rocks them closer. There both shivering but that’s the adrenaline sinking in. he should have turned off the TV the second he heard what was happening, should have protected his children’s innocence for a little while longer but God knows that will be shot to shit soon enough.

“Miles buddy” he whispers once the news changes. “Go get me the phone, were gonna order Pizza.” He cannot even think about cooking right now. Not when he has only a thin confirmation that his partner is alive and two slightly traumatised children.

Miles nods shaken. He can deal with Miles later right now he has to deal with Stella who is still staring wide eyed at the TV her brown eyes all big in her face.

“Rabbit” he says gently brushing back her hair. The nickname comes from the stuffed Rabbit James got her when she was a baby. Stella would refuse to go to sleep without it and would carry it around everywhere. It still has pride of place on her bed. “Do you get what happened?”

Stella pauses her thumb in her mouth. She’s small for four and her face crumples up in a way that looks to adorable for her own good. “Poppa and his friend saved the day?” she asks looking wide eyed like she’s afraid of getting the answer wrong.

“Yeah…see…Poppa decided to be a hero and he saved New York from getting hurt…but he’s ok, when he comes home you have to hug him real tight, but you gotta keep it a secret baby girl. You remember that we don’t tell anyone about Pop?”

He hates that. He hates that he has to hide how worried he is. That he has to teach his daughter and his son to hide that their father is in the military. When they adopted Miles it was thankfully with an adoption agency that understood their predicament. Stella was born via surrogacy but they still have to hide the truth from their children. Miles gets it, hates it but gets it but he still has to remind Stella that she cannot say her other father is in the Air Force. Not even Tony Stark knows about him and the kids. God knows how James has pulled that off.

(And he knows that it kills James that the kids don’t have his name and that legally he’s not their father. That he’s not on the birth certificate)

But that still doesn’t stop him from wanting to kill his partner off nearly thirteen years.

Stella nods “Can I draw him a picture?” she asks “Of him in his metal suit saving the world?” she asks and Sam nods rather pleased that this conversation has gone so well. “Can I sleep with you tonight?” she asks carefully and Sam nods. “Course you can Rabbit” he says “Go get your brother before he orders all the wrong pizza, tell him to get me a large pepper and mushroom one with the cheesy crust and tell him you can both have some Ben and Jerry’s ice cream” Stella beams and totters off, she’s wearing leggings and a thick jumper and she looks adorable.

Sam waits till he hears Miles’s voice on the phone and then buries his face in his hands and tries to control his breathing. He is going to kill James the second he gets some leave. He breathes harshly through his nose and manages to stare at the opposite wall without really seeing it. Seeing the Stark Expo in ruins has made it difficult to breathe.

“Dad” says a quiet voice from the door and he looks up to see Miles watching him. He manages a small smile, “You ok Bud?” he asked looking back. Miles nods before biting his lip. “Dad will get leave soon won’t he?” he asks looking nothing short of horrified. Sam opens one arm and Miles forgets that he’s a boy of eleven and manages to crawl back into Sam’s arms. “Hey kiddo” he says finally “Your Dad should be home soon” he presses a kiss into Miles hair.

“You think you can be brave for your sister until he does, you know convince her that everything is gonna be alright?” Miles nods. He’s takes the role of big brother very seriously.

They eat pizza in silence until the adrenaline falls of the kids and they begin discussing what they would do with suits like Tony Starks. Stella decides she wants a glitter one.

 

 

 

 

Later that night when the Kids are in bed Sam presses the SKYPE button and is more than pleased to see that James presses reply. He loos ok when his face comes on screen and Sam clenches a fist into the sheets. “So I saw you on CNN.” He says calmly. Rhodey raises an eyebrow “I suppose…I should have rang you straight after but I had to deal with debriefings and the military and the press…Oh God Sam the press!” he sighed looking sheepish. “But on the plus side. Tony managed to get me some leave and covered the heat. I told him that I needed to see the love of my life. I think he thought I meant a girl, I’ll tell you Sam the second DADT gets repealed then I am telling him everything”

Sam stays silent before he manages to speak. “Yeah I saw the Expo…your kids did to…your eleven year old and your five year old saw you on CNN and told me. If you can imagine” he said his voice cold “My shock when I saw the Expo then you can imagine your children’s reactions”

By the time he has finished James has gone quiet. “Shit” he says finally.

“How did they?”

“How did they take it?” Sam asks carefully “Well Stella now wants a glitter Iron Man suit and Miles wants to know the inner workings of the damn thing so…” he swallows heavily “Are you alright?” he asked.

James nods. “I’m fine, me and Tony got all the shit straightened out and I got three weeks free and I can come home and be with you and the kids…I didn’t mean to scare you or them…I…you kinda had to be there but…the guy, Hammer and his minions were threatening innocent kids just like ours and…” he trailed off and Sam sighed. “I know” he said rubbing his temples.

“You just come home...please?” he hates the plea he hears in his voice but right now all he wants is for James to be in their bed next to him.

“I promise Sammy” James said grinning “I’m on Tony’s jet now…”

Sam pauses “Oh” he says carefully. “Well…make sure the pilot drives the plane safe”

James laughs and Sam smiles looking down at the ring on his hand. They can’t get married but they both exchanged promise rings years ago, his is just a silver band thick like James with the two birthstones of their children. Ruby for Miles and Emerald for Stella.

“Are you…I mean…nobody knows about the kids?” he knows James would crawl over broken glass for the kids but he doesn’t need them in the media. Neither of them do.

“Yeah” James said looking serious. “Yeah they don’t know. Once I land I’ll grab a rental and drive home and spend the next three weeks in the house with the kids. Gives you more time to spend at the VA”

It was a hollow promise. James knew if he was home Sam wouldn’t touch the VA with a bargepole.

“Just get home safe will you” he asks without expecting an answer and James nods. They don’t need more words than that. When he gets home and upstairs once the kids were asleep then they would talk. However, it doesn’t matter. All that matters is that James comes home.

 

 

 

 

It’s early morning when Sam hears the door open. He reaches silently for the knife he keeps by the beside cabinet. If someone is breaking in then he needs to stop them before he reaches the stairs. He reaches the top of the landing before he realises who it is.

There’s a second where James just stares at him and Sam stares back before the other man runs up the stairs dropping his keys behind the locked door and wrapping Sam in his arms.

Sam takes a deep breath. “Shit” he hisses out feeling tired and exhausted and sick all at the same time. The relief is kicking him in the stomach over and over again.

“Don’t be mad at me” James mutters “Not today. Not right now, hit me later when the adrenaline rush wears off. I swear the whole time this was happening and Anton what’s-his-name was after me I thought about you and Miles and Stella and how I was gonna make it home”

Sam nods once because he really doesn’t think he can trust his voice right now. All he wants to do is to crawl back inside his bed and sleep away the last day. “Kids will wake us up in about an hour” he predicts “Stella asked if she could sleep in the bed tonight and we have about an hour before she remembers. Guarantee you that she goes straight to Miles as soon as she sees you”

James grins pulling back. “Sounds perfect” he confesses smiling brightly. “I always miss the monsters, today even more so”

Sam jerks his head “Come on then”

They don’t need a whole conversation. They don’t need the debate on Iron Patriot v War Machine or Tony Stark or the threat of SHIELD lurking around the corner. Well at least not now.

Now is filled with Miles and Stella and pizza and Ice Cream and family…

Right now in the dark house everyone is safe.

Right now everything is perfect.

**Author's Note:**

> Feedback is welcomed, prompts even more so. 
> 
> I should have the next prompt up soon.


End file.
